Dan's "Conquista-door" Replacement

Dan had a door in much need of replacement. I call it the "conquista-door" because of the heavy-handed carvings that would be more appropriate on a Spanish revival home... but it's ill-placed nonetheless.

A day later, he had something more Eichler-appropriate. Check out his blog, too, see what else is afoot.

One thing we've learned on our own door and this one is that yellow paint covers terribly and takes about 6 coats to cover completely (whereas a darker or more opaque color might cover in 2 coats)... something to consider when picking a color and looking at a time-line (or costs shoudl you be hiring someone to paint it).

Nonetheless, we seem to have gotten Eichler front door replacement down to a science. Drop me a line if you need a new one...

Comments

[Yaron]

Hi,Do you know where can I buy an eichler door like the one in the photo? I live in CA (south bay area)

[Carolyn]

Hi, we're in desperate need of a new front door, but ours is a bit tricky. The door isn't actually in a door frame; instead, it's mounted between two posts that make up a front fence. Also, it's exposed to the elements so it really ought to be fiberglass. The current wood door is falling apart. Sounds strange, but I have photos that would explain it better than words. We're in a custom Eichler on the Stanford campus. Any suggestions and/or help would be greatly appreciated.

[Hunter Wimmer]

Hi guys: Not sure how I missed these comments. Sorry for the slow reply.

Yaron: Check with a local door shop in San Jose/Cupertino. I hear Southern Lumber is good, but look for a place with a "door and window" shop. You're not buying an "Eichler door" per se, just a standard door that is drilled for a 5in backset. Make sure to get an exterior-grade door (uses exterior-appropriate glue). I use birch-faced exterior doors. Some of the Eichler homes I've worked on use 1-3/8in thick doors as original (like mine) which is a bit thinner/lightweight than the 1-3/4. I prefer the 1-3/8 for feel and it's plenty strong.

Carolyn: Actually, Eichler doors aren't hung in traditional jambs and the exterior doors are mounted to posts like you mentioned (like our front door). When I re-hung our bathroom door, I used a pre-hung for the appropriate weather resistance and built-in threshold, but it made the passage much thinner and the look bulkier (and I'd not do it again and in fact, for michael's bathroom door, I mounted to the post as original and added weatherstripping and a threshold later.)... For yours -- depending on the amount of exposure -- you could use a steel or fiberglass door. One thing to keep in mind is that many of these doors use MDF as a core, so it's really a wash. If you want true weather-resistence, look for a fiberglass door with a poly-wood and foam core. honestly, though, an exterior-grade birch door properly primed and painted and capped with aluminum should do fine. Painted wood is exposed all the time (siding, fascia, etc.).